Q23 to Q26:

Why firms adhere to or deviate

          from their strategic plans is poorly

          understood.  However, theory and

Line    limited research suggest that the

  (5)      process through which such plans

emerge may play a part.  In particular,

top management decision-sharing—

consensus-oriented, team-based

decision-making—may increase the

 (10)      likelihood that firms will adhere to their

plans, because those involved in the

decision-making may be more com-

mitted to the chosen course of action,

thereby increasing the likelihood that

 (15)      organizations will subsequently adhere

to their plans.

However, the relationship between

top management decision-sharing and

adherence to plans may be affected

 (20)      by a firm’s strategic mission (its fun-

          damental approach to increasing

          sales revenue and market share, and

generating cash flow and short-term

profits).  At one end of the strategic

 (25)      mission continuum, “build” strategies

are pursued when a firm desires to

increase its market share and is willing

to sacrifice short-term profits to do so.

At the other end, “harvest” strategies

 (30)      are used when a firm is willing to

sacrifice market share for short-term

profitability and cash-flow maximiza-

          tion.  Research and theory suggest

that top management decision-sharing

 (35)     may have a more positive relationship

with adherence to plans among firms

with harvest strategies than among

firms with build strategies.  In a study

         of strategic practices in several large

 (40)     firms, managers in harvest strategy

scenarios were more able to adhere

to their business plans.  As one of the

managers in the study explained it,

this is partly because “[t]ypically all a

 (45)      manager has to do [when implementing

a harvest strategy] is that which was

done last year.”  Additionally, man-

agers under harvest strategies may

have fewer strategic options than do

 (50)      those under build strategies; it may

therefore be easier to reach agree-

ment on a particular course of action

through decision-sharing, which will

in turn tend to promote adherence

 (55)      to plans.  Conversely, in a “build”

strategy scenario, individual leader-

ship, rather than decision-sharing,

may promote adherence to plans.

Build strategies—which typically

 (60)      require leaders with strong perso-

nal visions for a firm’s future, rather

than the negotiated compromise

of the team-based decision—may

be most closely adhered to when

 (65)      implemented in the context of a clear

strategic vision of an individual leader,

rather than through the practice of

decision-sharing.

Q23:

Which of the following best describes the function of the first sentence (lines 17-24) of the second paragraph of the passage?

1. To answer a question posed in the first sentence of the passage about why firms adopt particular strategic missions
2. To refute an argument made in the first paragraph about how top management decision-making affects whether firms will adhere to their strategic plans
3. To provide evidence supporting a theory introduced in the first paragraph about what makes firms adhere to or deviate from their strategic plants
4. To qualify an assertion made in the preceding sentence (lines 6-16) about how top management decision-making affects the likelihood that firms will adhere to their strategic plans
5. To explain a distinction relied on in the second paragraph (lines 17-68) regarding two different kinds of strategic missions

我选了E，答案给的解释是D。其实这五个答案我都不是很喜欢，但是觉得E是其中最好的了。在第一段中，作者说top management decision-sharing may increase the likelihood that firms will adhere to their plans，第二段讲两种公司strategic mission对这个relationship between top management decision-sharing和adherence to plans的影响。第二段中第一句话是第二段的一个中心。我感觉这句话更在强调第二段的问题而不是第一段的问题。请大家指点！

呵呵，可能各个版本的答案不一样吧，我这个版本的答案是E，但我选了D，第二段确实是在讲影响第一段那个规律的限制因素啊。

另外，搭车问个问题

Q24:

The passage cites all of the following as differences between firms using build strategies and firms using harvest strategies EXCEPT

1. their willingness to sacrifice short-term profits in order to build market share
2. their willingness to sacrifice building market share in order to increase short-term profitability
3. the number of strategic options available to their managers
4. the relative importance they assign to maximizing cash-flow
5. how likely they are to employ decision-sharing in developing strategic plans

答案是E，但我觉得没答案

以下是引用雨蛙在2006-9-18 11:34:00的发言：

呵呵，可能各个版本的答案不一样吧，我这个版本的答案是E，但我选了D，第二段确实是在讲影响第一段那个规律的限制因素啊。

 ...

嗯！我这个版本的资料里，关于23题的参考答案是 E，可是我倾向于认为 D 才是正确答案。因为 D 选项说：

D. To qualify an assertion made in the preceding sentence (lines 6-16) about how top management decision-making affects the likelihood that firms will adhere to their strategic plans

第二段开头的 However，是一个明确的转折。这句话 qualify 了前面的 assertion，其中的 qualify 有“使（言辞，声明）不过于绝对；修正；使有所保留”的意思。

以下是引用雨蛙在2006-9-18 11:34:00的发言：

另外，搭车问个问题

 

Q24:

The passage cites all of the following as differences between firms using build strategies and firms using harvest strategies EXCEPT

             

1. their willingness to sacrifice short-term profits in order to build market share
2. their willingness to sacrifice building market share in order to increase short-term profitability
3. the number of strategic options available to their managers
4. the relative importance they assign to maximizing cash-flow
5. how likely they are to employ decision-sharing in developing strategic plans

答案是E，但我觉得没答案

文中提到：

At one end of the strategic mission continuum, “build” strategies are pursued when a firm desires to increase its market share and is willing to sacrifice short-term profits to do so. At the other end, “harvest” strategies are used when a firm is willing to sacrifice marked share for short-term profitability and cash-flow maximization. 

能被 sacrifice 掉的，重要性肯定不高嘛！选项 D 的内容在文中有对应的部分，所以 D 不是正确选项，E 才是。